Banana Republic

In Belarus four of the candidates who stood against sitting president Lukashenko were arrested after the close of the polls and are currently in custody. Clearly the law enforcement agencies are taking seriously their suggestion that there were irregularities in the lection procedures. Andrei Sannikov another candidate escaped arrest when police beat him unconscious for complaining about the result. It has to be said the official figures are worrying. Lukashenko got back in with only 79.67% of the vote and questions must be asked about what happened to the remaining 20.33%. It can’t be a loss in popularity by dear old uncle Aleksandr so there must have been some slip ups at the count. However, unlike the last general election in the UK, it seems that everyone who turned up on time and who wanted to vote was able to do so. So no room for us to criticise Belarus.